My OperaFrom Mars to Jupiter?
Saturday, January 24, 2009 10:29:27 PM
Good news finally came out of NASA.
Sort of.
Confronted with the numerous failings and challenges of the Ares rocket program, a group of anonymous engineers working from inside NASA have decided to piece together their own schematics for a new launch vehicle, calling the project Jupiter Direct. The new plan was proposed to President Barack Hussein Obama a few days before he officially took office, placing the competing rocket idea into public view.
As many of you surely have heard, the current Project Constellation is slated to get men back to the moon, and then on to Mars. However, the rockets designed for post-mission shuttles have been wrought with disastrous tests and frightening systems failures. The rockets currently suffer from a vibratory effect that would liquify any astronaut unfortunate enough to sit in the seat during take off. Recently, NASA discovered a pogo-effect, which could potentially cause the rocket to collide with the launch tower upon ignition. And, if those problems weren't terrible enough, the rocket's currently don't have enough power to leave Earth orbit, which means men won't go back to the moon.
All these problems are stacking up against the Ares, and it's creator; Michael Griffin, administrator of NASA. Because the Ares rockets are his pet design, he is determined to see them through to fruition. Despite numerous protests from scientists and engineers at NASA, Griffin believes his designs will one day fly, and he is determined to pour NASA's manned mission capital into his dream. More and more scientists are coming to face the sad truth that the Ares rocket designs might not be the best route for NASA to look into.
One of the key differences between the two designs is while the Ares rockets designs utilize two seperate vehicles for crew launch and cargo launch. The Ares I, specified for lighter payloads, is a completely different rocket than the Ares V, which is designed to be a heavy-lift rocket, much like the old Saturn V. The Jupiter plans also cost much less, and if development begins immediately, it is possible that a few years may be taken off the estimate to a manned flight date.
The Jupiter rocket family design solves the catastrophic vibrations that the Ares rockets face. The proposed Jupiter vehicles also have a much higher Loss of Crew/Mission ratio. The Jupiter rocket family is designed to deliver the Orion capsule into orbit or to the moon, something the Ares I cannot do though theoretically the Ares V will be able to.
After the recent thought experiment that involved joining two shuttles in low earth orbit by a collapsible tube for the duration of a trip to Mars (completely ridiculous but whatever), it is great to see engineers start to look seriously at the issues facing the Ares program. Though the new administration is not going to be friendly to NASA (with good reason, too. Michael Griffin is certainly not the best thing to happen to NASA), perhaps with an increased focus on education, the Americans can get back on their feet and moving in the right direction towards reconquering space.
Sort of.
Confronted with the numerous failings and challenges of the Ares rocket program, a group of anonymous engineers working from inside NASA have decided to piece together their own schematics for a new launch vehicle, calling the project Jupiter Direct. The new plan was proposed to President Barack Hussein Obama a few days before he officially took office, placing the competing rocket idea into public view.
As many of you surely have heard, the current Project Constellation is slated to get men back to the moon, and then on to Mars. However, the rockets designed for post-mission shuttles have been wrought with disastrous tests and frightening systems failures. The rockets currently suffer from a vibratory effect that would liquify any astronaut unfortunate enough to sit in the seat during take off. Recently, NASA discovered a pogo-effect, which could potentially cause the rocket to collide with the launch tower upon ignition. And, if those problems weren't terrible enough, the rocket's currently don't have enough power to leave Earth orbit, which means men won't go back to the moon.
All these problems are stacking up against the Ares, and it's creator; Michael Griffin, administrator of NASA. Because the Ares rockets are his pet design, he is determined to see them through to fruition. Despite numerous protests from scientists and engineers at NASA, Griffin believes his designs will one day fly, and he is determined to pour NASA's manned mission capital into his dream. More and more scientists are coming to face the sad truth that the Ares rocket designs might not be the best route for NASA to look into.
One of the key differences between the two designs is while the Ares rockets designs utilize two seperate vehicles for crew launch and cargo launch. The Ares I, specified for lighter payloads, is a completely different rocket than the Ares V, which is designed to be a heavy-lift rocket, much like the old Saturn V. The Jupiter plans also cost much less, and if development begins immediately, it is possible that a few years may be taken off the estimate to a manned flight date.
The Jupiter rocket family design solves the catastrophic vibrations that the Ares rockets face. The proposed Jupiter vehicles also have a much higher Loss of Crew/Mission ratio. The Jupiter rocket family is designed to deliver the Orion capsule into orbit or to the moon, something the Ares I cannot do though theoretically the Ares V will be able to.
After the recent thought experiment that involved joining two shuttles in low earth orbit by a collapsible tube for the duration of a trip to Mars (completely ridiculous but whatever), it is great to see engineers start to look seriously at the issues facing the Ares program. Though the new administration is not going to be friendly to NASA (with good reason, too. Michael Griffin is certainly not the best thing to happen to NASA), perhaps with an increased focus on education, the Americans can get back on their feet and moving in the right direction towards reconquering space.
